Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Time always was such as fickle thing. No matter what you did to stop it, it would pass you by, pushing aside cities and society with little a bat of an eye. Time would zoom pass the good time and linger on the bad. Time would cause beauty to fade and power to change. TIme could even make low grow stale, and those who once held you in their arms could simply leave the next day. Yet no matter how much bitterness and loss a person experiences, they always want more.

Everyone always wants more, because no matter how much time you have, it will never be enough.

A lady contemplates this irony as she rushes about. Running across a planet that was never her own, that she could never find peace in. She was foolish to think that she could rest, and even more foolish she could live peacefully here. She was a fool to think she could settle down, start a family, live a normal a life.There was no peace for her, not now, not ever…

But there might be some peace for the small bundle that laid in her arms, sheltered from the cool air by the lady’s long cloak.

Suddenly, the lady slowed, a horrible cough escaping her as she leaned against the nearest building. The bundle began to squirm and started to fuss, no doubt awakened by her mother’s coughs. The lad froze, before quickly going to hush the child. “Shh, shh, it’s ok, it’s ok, you’re ok. Shh, shh.”

She could feel it, her  body was already to weak. She couldn’t make it to the orphanage. She’d have to go back, but she couldn’t just leave the child out here, could she? She’d have to...She didn’t have much time…

Gazing around the area, she looked for the nearest building that still had its lights on, she didn’t even bother to see if it was even a home or not, and set the child down on the doorstep. The lacy gave the child one last look, gazing into the blue eyes that matched her own. She fought the urge to cry, to pick up the child and keep going…

“I’m going to have to go now, little one,” The lady whispered, gently caressing the babe’s cheek as she spoke. By now the babe had started to drift back into her slumber, her eyes blinking closed. “Don’t worry, you will find a family...a family that could take care of you far much better than I ever could…”

The lady started to pull away, but stopped. Gently taking off her top hat, her favorite one at that, she placed it over the child and gave the door a rather hard knock. She didn’t even hear it open, she was already running off into the night before she could change her mind. This was for the best, it had to be...

Chapter Text

Mafia was not the smartest, no. They were the strongest, the toughest, the meanest; but they were not all the smartest. Big boss was the smartest, the one who always knew just what to do when Mafia know not. He was also masterchef, able to cook amazing food far better than mafia ever could. So naturally, Big Boss got all of most precious things. So when Mafia find hat and basket, outside of Mafia HQ, Mafia did what was normally done with offerings.

Mafia took it to Big Boss.

“What the hell were you thinking?!”

Most of the Mafia cowered at the their bosses yelling, his butcher knives pointing far to menacingly for their liking, or comfort for that matter. Said mafia that had brought the gift inside was currently on his knees, begging for forgiveness and the now awake child wailed like no one's business. It was chaos, pure and simple.

“I thought I made it clear that no children would be in the Mafia headquarters! Not after what happened last time!” Big Boss yelled once more, stomping his foot on the ground and pointing at the crowd. “But what do you do, you idiots go out and steal one!”

“M-mafia didn’t know! Mafia just thought it was hat and cloak! Mafia did not see baby at all! M-mafia just thought it was payment!” The Mafia member quickly stammered, still begging on the floor for his life. “Please Boss, Mafia not know better, Mafia will toss it outside and-”

As the Mafia member carried on with his case, the babe’s wails grew louder and louder, causing the Boss to clench his fists and grit his teeth. After a few more minutes of this, he tosses one of his knives at the floor. “Will somebody shut. her. up !”

The mafia members froze, all listening to their boss’s order, before going rather pale. Even the one who was begging for his life went pale. The only sound for miles around was the babe…

“B-but boss...she is just tiny,” one of the mafia started, a concerned look growing on his face. The other mafia member nodded in agreement, mumbling their own concerns and reservations. “She does not-”

“Not like that!” Big boss groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose before letting out a sigh and moving towards the babe. He already had a headache, and the annoyance of his men wasn’t helping it in the slightest. “It seems like I have to do everything around here...”

Moving over and with the grace of a whale, Big boss picked up the baby and made his way to his throne. Even though the babe’s cries simmered down upon being held, she still whimpered and tears still sprung from her eyes.

“You, stop crying.” Big Boss commanded, keeping a serious gaze on her as he walked back to his throne. But nonetheless, he began to sway his arms slightly, in an effort to calm her down. But it was clear by how stiff he was that he hadn’t really done these things before. “It is annoying.”

Most of the Mafia watched with shocked looks as their boss, the most powerful man in all of mafia town, was able to somewhat sooth the small baby back to sleep. What was even more surprising was how he did it without so much as a smile or any sweet words at all. He did seem a bit uncomfortable, possibly embarrassed, but with the way the red lighting shone, it was hard to tell.

A sense of calm, and of uncertainness, washed over the room...

“...Did you see who left her?” The boss asked finally, quietly, once the girl was fast asleep.

“No,” the Mafia member replied, still a bit stunned at this odd act of kindness. “Mafia was coming back from break, did not see anyone around…”

“Of course you didn’t…” The boss sighed, using their free hand to rub their temple. After a few minutes of thinking, he slowly began to smile, an idea gracing his head. “In that case, go and get a crib. Steal it, buy it, build it; I don’t care. Just get one.”

“B-boss?! Are you saying that baby will-” The mafia member began, but was quickly silence by his boss, a knife tosses a little too close for comfort. “Y-yes sir!”

That night, the mafia members swarmed the city, gather everything from toys to clothes, diapers and all. No one knew why at first, many of the non-mafia citizens panicked at what the baby related robberies could be. But non expected it all for just one little girl. And while the chaos ensured below, the Boss sat upon his throne and couldn’t quell the growing panic arising in him, even while he held the peacefully sleeping child in his arms…

He couldn’t be a father, he was a boss after all. He would be too busy to watch her all the time. Not to mention there having to baby a child, it could ruin his reputation… But the child was given to the mafia...

Carefully getting up and rushing to the bar, he felt a sigh rush out of his as he spotted the Mafia who tended the bar. “Mafia, pour me a glass.”

“Ah, boss, is something the matter,” the Mafia asked, quirking a thick eyebrow at his leader, as well as the babe in his arms. “Oh...and here mafia was thinking that other Mafia were crazy…Here, let Mafia pour you your usual. You look like you are needing it.”

“Yes, yes.” The boss quickly took a seat, already feeling his stress simmer down. He didn’t speak until the mafia member had poured his a drink, and he nursed it as his mind wandered. He’d allowed this member to have a bit more freedom when addressing him, seeing as he was far more observant than his fellow members. That’s mostly why he kept the man close by, giving him some solace incase the other’s grew on his nerves too much.

“Mafia, you are normally here early, yes?”

“Yes sir, You requested Mafia live close by since Mafia make best drinks in all of Mafia town.” The mafia member replied having gone to drying glasses now that their headquarters were completely empty. “So Mafia come early and come quickly.”

A few moments passed, the Boss finished his drink. The bartender poured him another.

“Congrats then, Mafia,” The boss said, quickly placing the child on the bar and picking up his glass. He was already booking it back to the doorway. “You are promoted to Papa Mafia!”

“Huh?!” Was all the mafia member could say, as he watched his boss run faster then he had even ran before. The Mafia member paused, before his own gaze slowly crept down to the baby laying on the bar, starting to squirm once more. Carefully, he picked up the child, making sure to support her head as he cradled her. When she calmed down, he felt himself relax as well. He let a small smile escape him.

“Well... you look like tenacious type, at least. Welcome to the Mafia, Mafia child…”

Chapter Text

They had just finished recording when they heard the commotion, the sound of crying and nervous squeaks and chirps. The conductor had gotten agitated rather quickly, tossing his megaphone on the ground and stomping out to the lobby. Dj Grooves took a more tactful, curious approach, wondering what scuffle had happened now. It was almost comical, how they both stepped out of their studios at the same time, catching each other just in time to make eye contact. Just in time to blame the other for the owls and penguins yelling at each other and shoving a hat, back and forth.

Not that ether cared about the hat, or how nervous their groups were.

All that mattered was that their sworn rivals were in fighting distance.

“Alright, what did yer stupid posse do now, DJ Peck Neck?” The conductor asked rhetorically already making a beeline towards Grooves. “Aye thought Aye told ya to keep your groups on your side of the studio.”

“Oh darling, if I recall correctly, it’s your express owls who often have a nasty habit of crossing the line.” Grooves retorted, only having to take a few steps to be right in front of the owl. With his wedges on, he towered over the Conductor as usual, yet the shorter never seemed to care. “Then again, they normally behave better than you. Maybe your horrible train movies finally pushed them too far.“

“Uh, sirs?” One of express Owls, towards the edge of the scuffle, called out, an even more nervous than usual gracing his face. “S-sirs this is sort of important-”

“Gah, said like a true looser!” The conductor practically squawked, standing on his toes to glare back at Grooves, even though no one could ever see his eyes, if he had any. “Need aye remind ya of the many, many trophies I’ve got!”

“Hey boss ya might wanna-” One of the Penguins began, trying to tug on Grooves jacket to get his attention. Yet it was pointless now, not after that remark.

“Oh so you think that-” Grooves began, yelling now.

“Yer peckin’ right aye think that-” The conductor snapped back, lunging for Grooves jacket collar. Yet instead, another bird stepped in the way…

A Crow, carrying a crying baby in a hat and seeming very, very frazzled.

“Can you two stop fighting for one moment, please?!” The crow cawed out, his feather trembling. “We have a situation here!”

The room went dead. The baby, now red faced and squirming in the crow’s grasp, was the only source of sound in the filled up lobby. The conductor and Dj Grooves merely stared at each other, eyes locked in a mix of confusion and uncertainty and...and wait, waiting to see what the other would do.

“...Darling,” Dj Grooves, deciding to take charge, looked at the crow with a concerned look. His gaze darted down at the child, but only for a moment. His cool composure was up instanously, but it was no doubt rockier than normal. “Where did you find hi-...he-... them?”

“S-someone just left it outside the studio!” One of the express owls spoke up, instantly flocking to Groove’s side to explain everything. “We’ve had security looking all over the parking lot, but who ever dropped her here just, just vanished?!”

“...Oh for the love of,” The conductor moaned, already pulling his feathers out. He didn’t need this, not when they were so close to the awards day. “ Yer tellin me that some human came up outta the middle of nowhere, dropped off her tot, and vanished ?! Yer all Peckin worthless then if yer security!”

Normally, this would invoke a response from any of the penguins or crows, but neither seemed to be in the mood to defend themselves. More cries and silence seemed to fade into the room.

“Uh, sir’s,” The crow hold the child began, his gaze darting between the two. “As much as I agree that we need to beef up security, what should we do about...about her?”

“...What do ya mean, “ what should we do about her” ?” The Conductor stated, not even daring to look down at the child. His face contorted into a sneer as he turned to go back into his studio. “Call child services, take her to an orphanage, Peck all, drop her off at Mafia town; I dun’t care what ya do, just get rid of her.”

That caused quite the commotion, as the bird in the lobby shared surprised looks and nervous glances with each other. Some nodded in agreement, othe bristled at the idea of possibly their own hatchlings being sent to orphanages. A few even brought up that fact that the Conductor himself had kids, grandkids to boot. Yet while they all bickered about, DJ Grooves remained oddly silent. His gaze had drifted back to the child, who was still sobbing and screeching away.

“Uh, sir?” the Crow cawed out, catching Groove’s gaze. “What’s wro-”

“Lemme see her,” Grooves said, holding his flippers out expectantly.

The Conductor froze mid-step, but didn’t dare turn around. “Grooves…”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” The crow stated, before rather quickly and sloppily passing the babe to Grooves. He seemed relieved to be free of watching the child, and quickly made his way to the door. No doubt not wanting to get caught up in the scuffle that would ensure. “I’ll be out with the other crows, looking for the parent.”

Grooves gave a simple nod before turning his attentions back to the baby, a bit of a nervous look gracing his own face. He’d held children before, but those were usually for his movies. And normally they were hatchlings. “...Oh you poor, ugly little thing. No wonder you’re crying...”

“Don’t ya dare,” The Conductor stated, spinning on his heels to face his rival. “Ya know as well as aye do that neither of us got the time to be raising a child, let alone a human one.”

“You don’t know that,” Grooves stated, but he kept his tone soft and his gaze on the child. He was starting to sway now, his confidence starting to grow as the child’s screeches simmered to whimpers. “Besides, who said you’d be raising her, Darling. Last time I check, you’ve already had your chance.”

“Exactly, the only thing ya know how to take care of is yer hair,” The Conductor was making his way back to Grooves, fists clenched and teeth gritting. Yet his voice was quiet, almost being considerate for the whimpering babe in Groove’s arms. “Besides, we’re birds! She clearly aint. She should be with her own kind-”

“The same kind that dumped her at our studio,” Grooves counter, leaning down as glaring at the Conductor with disdain. “The same kind that you wanna send her back to, even if it meant dumping her in Mafia town? Oh no, no no Darling. This poor thing’s not even five and it's clear she has suffered enough.”

The two birds stared at each other, not stopping, not even moving. By now the baby had stopped her fretting and has shifted to messing with the Dj’s face, reaching up and babbling away. But after a few moments, she shifted her small, plump hands and place one on the Conductor’s beak, her gaze locking with his…

"...Grooves, so help me, ya better not be makin' a mistake here," The conductor stated angrily, turning away and crossing his arms. DJ Grooves simply smiled, before lifting the baby up above his head and enjoying the way she laughed. 

"Welcome to the Studio then, Harmony Darling!" 

"Harmony?! What kind of a name is that?!"

Chapter Text

Each day Mafia Boss walked into the bar, he was greeted by an ever change scene. It started small, a no smoking sign being hung by the entry. This wasn’t it’s first use, as it had came up many times when the Boss had tried to quit smoking before. Yet it would be quickly whisked away by the time he’d managed to steal another pack. But now, now when there was an infant around, the sign had been drilled into the wall with absolute permanence.

“You expect Mafia to leave Mafia kid at home,” Papa Mafia had told him when he asked, small child sleeping in the newly pocketed apron he wore. “No one will watch her, so sign stays. Sorry Boss”

And so he allowed it. Because it would be tedious to have to remind everyone not to smoke in the bar.

Then, other things started to creep their way into the bar area. Suddenly, a playpen was placed in the empty corner of the room. This was no doubt after Papa Mafia had to juggle carrying a baby and making drinks. But Each day, something new seemed to be added to it, whether it be toys or blankets or, strangely of all, pillows. By the time a week had passed, the corner had been dubbed the nursery corner, and it fit it’s roll far too well.

It also seemed to be a popular attraction, at least to the Mafia Members.

“How long have they been watching her?” Boss asked one afternoon, having swung by to get some water. Was he checking in? Hell no! Why would he be worried about some little twerp…

“Mafia been rotating in shifts,” Papa Mafia yawned, looking a little worse for where then he did a week ago. “Mafia help keep her from getting bored though.”

“...Well, as long as they’re on break, I suppose it’s fine,” Boss mused, using his straw to stir the ice in his water. Yet after a few moments of silence, his gaze shifted back to his friend. The Mafia member seemed different, his eyelids lower than normal, his suit a bit out of sorts. “How are you holding up? You seem...tired.”

“Mafia kid does not know concept of time,” Papa Mafia deadpanned, a bit of an obvious stare directed at The Boss. “She falls asleep whenever she wishes...”

“...oh,” Boss stated, a bit of a sympathetic look gracing his face. He should have realized putting it all on one Mafia might have been a bit too much. But then again, what did he know about raising kids. “...Well, If the job is too much for one Mafia, we can have her be switched from home to home. She probably wont-”

“No! No,” Papa Mafia said, far more quickly then the Boss had expected. Taking the Boss’s startled silence for a genuine pause, Papa Mafia continued. “Mafia enjoy having someone around house. Makes home feel less empty…”

After that, Papa Mafia started to smile, his gaze drifting back to the nursery corner. Currently, Mafia kid was rather excitedly playing with one of the stuffed animals a Mafia member had giver her, squeezing its arm as she babbled to it joyfully. Papa Mafia’s gaze softened. “Not to mention, Mafia kid is still young. Too young to be bounced house to house, like class pet...Might hurt Mafia child more than help, at least at this age…”  

“But you are clearly tired,” The Boss argued, rising from his seat. His brow furrowed in annoyance at his friend’s neglect of his own health. Naturally, if this had been any other Mafia member, he’d have ordered them to comply with his words. But they both knew Papa Mafia wouldn’t back down, he was almost as stubborn as the Boss. That’s why they’d been friends, after all. “Listen to reason, old friend. You need to rest.”

“Mafia will rest, but Mafia will not give child up,” Papa Mafia replied back, crossing his arms and starting at his boss. The two locked eyes, and the staring contest was engaged. The bar went silent as the Mafia Members watched with nervous and excited glances. If this excelated, would it be taken to the Mafia theater?

Thankfully, it didn’t get that far.

Not a few minutes later, the Boss felt something begin to tug on his pant’s leg. Trying to ignore it only made the person pull harder. Quickly whipping around, he stared at the vast crowd in front of him. “Who dares to interrupt the Mafia Boss when he is-”

“Bah!”

The Boss looked down, and his eyes once again met Mafia kid’s. Surprised, his gaze darted back to the playpen, which was swinging wide open. The three Mafia members that were there seemed to snap out of their shock at this time, looking just as puzzled as their boss. The Boss looked back down at the now dirtied child and, with an annoyed huff, scooped her off the floor.

“Oh you are already going to be trouble,” The Boss sighed, eyes closed as Mafia Kid excitedly patted his face with her tiny hands.

“Mafia wins,” Papa Mafia stated plainly, having stopped his staring contest to go ahead and start dry part of the off. He didn’t even try to hide the smirk on his face as he did his job, and but had the courtesy not to grin even more as the Boss sputtered indigiontly.

It was only when the Boss stopped stammering that Papa Mafia looked back up. By now, the Boss had taken his seat back on the bar, but still hadn’t let go of the child. He just watched her, an uncertain look gracing his face as she examined his. After a few moments, he glanced back up at Papa Mafia.

“Then I guess you are staying up here, then,” The Boss finally concluded, much to the shock of the rest of his grunts.

And that was how children were allowed back up at the Mafia HQ.

----------

The Headquarters received more renovations and cleaning then it had in the past few years, thanks to the new addition it would house. While being spacious, most of the rooms that weren’t open for typical Mafia members had been used as storage, while other’s has odd purposes, like a room with chairs on the ceiling, or a room that was just full of golden seagulls. The Boss would have yelled at whoever had been up to these shenanigans if he knew who they were, but the perpetrators had ether already been crushed into Pons, or had forgotten about their little prank. Either way, the whole incident had turned into a spring cleaning frenzy.

And sadly, this ended up taking a lot of Mafia to do, seeing how big the base actually was. He could have helped them move things, and have another Mafia member. But he didn’t. He claimed that it only to her her use to him, seeing as she’d be living here. Nothing more. Nope.

But he knew that was a lie.

“You’re lucky, you know that,” The Boss deadpanned, staring down Mafia kid as she scuttled around her playpen, curious about the new room she’d been taken too. “You’ve been taken into the strongest family around. You should be grateful.”

Mafia kid paid him no mind, instead staring at something that caught her eye. Trying to reach for something stuck in the treasure pile, she sticks her chubby little hands out and grasps the air, starting to whine.

“Hey, what did I say about crying,” The boss states, making his way over and scooping up the child. He scowled as he tried to block her view of the glittering gold and diamonds. Yet Mafia Kid wasn’t having any of it, instead squirming and starting to whine even more. “You can’t have any treasure! You’ll get drool on-”

The boss’s eyes connect the the hat, the same hat Mafia Kid had been left in, and he started to realize something. He moved to the left of the hat, then the right, Mafia kid followed, her whines getting louder and louder.

“...Well, you can’t choke on hat,” The Boss concluded, and made his way to pick it up. As so as he placed it on her head, she seemed to calm down, giggling as the hat practically covered her entire head. Relieved that he avoided a temper tantrum, the Boss made his way back to his throne and took a seat. Looking down at the child, he felt an oddly sweet feeling, almost paternal even. He allowed a smile to grace his face as Mafia kid’s eyes started to droop, before completely falling asleep, hat brim in mouth and hands gripping tight.

She looked absolutely adorable. Not at all intimidation or scary or strong...

“...I will never let anyone hurt you,” He found himself saying, allowing his words to carry a softness only few have heard before. “You understand, little one. The moment anyone tries anything, they will fall to the strongest man in the world.”

And so a promise was made...

Chapter Text

Two weeks into parenthood and DJ Grooves realized that maybe being a parent wasn’t so easy. Seeing as traveling to the moon with a baby wasn’t really advised, he’d been grounded until they could find a better way to get her up there. Not to mention now that he was going through the process of legally adopting her, they had to make sure her papers were certified by the United Bird Federation. So, his dressing room was quickly changed into his bedroom, and by far the most luxurious one at that.  But he missed the freedom that came with less gravity, as well as his home.

But another thing he realized was a baby required a lot of work. Waking up in the middle of the night to a crying child nearly gave him a heart attack when it first happened. But by now, he learned to groan and grumble about until he fell out of his cushy bead. By then it was easier to deal with.

“Harmony, Darling,” Grooves yawned, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes as he check on the poor little thing. “You really need to learn your timing…”

Yet the child didn’t seemed to care, simply continuing to cry out, even as she was picked up into his arms. What time was it anyway, five? Checking the clock near his bed stand, he felt his heart sink slightly at it’s numbers.

“Oh, it’s only three…” Grooves mused, before picking up the cycle of walking around until she fell asleep again. He’d already knew she was fine, he’d taken care of everything else earlier. Yet she still stayed awake, whimpering and fussing but, thankfully, no longer crying. “ Goodness Darling, you’re going to be the death of me, I swear…”

After a good five minutes of shuffling around the room, Grooves managed to pacify the baby, but sadly they didn’t seem to be showing any signs of going to sleep. Now they were just laying on his shoulder, gently messing with whatever feathers they could grab from him. He remembered the Conductor warning him about this, but he hadn’t taken it seriously. Oh what a fool he had been. But he wasn’t going to call him and ask for more advice, no, he was the DJ Grooves. He could handle anything…

Plus he was this girl’s father now, he had to act like it.

“Now what would…” Groves pondered, having taking to gliding around the room now. It kept him calm, not to mention he always had good movie ideas when he was busy dancing around. Suddenly, his little beady eyes widened. “I got it, how about a little lullaby, hm?”

He didn’t receive a response, seeing as little Harmony was a bit late when it came to knowing her words, but Grooves went on anyway. It took him a few moments to think of a decent song, but he finally settled on one that had been a bit of his favorite when he was younger. Sure it was old, but it was a classic.

“ When the night has come

And the land is dark

And the moon is the only light we see.”

He hadn’t sung in a while, not to mention he hadn’t released a musical in a few years, but after getting pass the first few words he found his footing. His voice: deep and smooth and softer then it had been for quite some time , seemed to echo gently off the walls of the room. Just the right volume to make sure Harmony was quieting down, which it seemed she was.

“ No I won't be afraid

No I won't be afraid

Just as long as you stand, stand by me. ”

By now he’d taken to just swaying about now, keeping Harmony secure as he sung along. She generally seemed to enjoy it. Instead of fidgeting like before, she laid still, breaths getting softer and calmer than before. Grooves felt himself start to smile softly as he made his way towards her crib.

The Conductor couldn’t get much sleep that night. He hadn’t most nights, usually it was because of stress or of mad inspiration. But ever since Grooves decided to adopt the kid, a human baby no less, he’d been a bit on edge himself. He wasn’t attached, peck no he wasn’t, but he would admit he worried for the poor lass. He knew Grooves, he’d known him since they were both young and green to the world of cinematography. He knew that Grooves always kept his cool, even in situations that had any bird screeching at the top of their lungs.

He knew Grooves was a great actor. He also knew Grooves was just as prideful as he was.

So, when he didn’t get a call from the goofy penguin about what could be causing little Harmony to be crying that night, he grew more and more restless. He’d fall asleep for an hour or two, before waking back up hoping the sun would be there to greet him. It was around the fifth time it happened that he left his train, he’d long since given up living in a house, and made his way to the studio.

He didn’t care about Harmony, no way in hell. He already had his chance at raising fledglings and, well, he didn’t do the best job. He had the divorce papers to prove that. And he wasn’t going to raise no child just out of pass regrets…

When he didn’t hear cries, the Conductor quickened his pace, already making a dash to the Dressing rooms. But as he got closer and closer, he heard...something…

“ And darling, darling stand by me

Oh, now, now, stand by me

Stand by me, stand by me. ”

It was singing. Singing he knew all too well. He’d heard the DJ caw and croon and tweet so loudly before, but this? This was...well, it wasn’t half bad. It was tolerable, even. His mind brought back a few movies he remembered Grooves singing in, but he never really sung like this. He’d always save the ballads for his new star of the year, and they’d always been his down fall…

“ If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
And the mountain should crumble to the sea.”

He should have left after that, but instead he found himself continuing his trek. He passed old props, recycled sets, and even some of the Crows on night watch, who nearly died when they saw him. But he didn’t seem to pay them any attention…

“ I won't cry, I won't cry

No I won't shed a tear

Just as long as you stand, stand by me.”

He didn’t open the door when he got to Grooves’s room, not at first. He didn’t want to risk waking up the lass if she was already asleep. So he just took to leaning against the wall and listening. Listening to his rival maybe doing something better than he ever had. But his curiosity got the better of him, and he managed to crack the door open just enough to peak inside.

“ And darling, darling stand by me

Oh, stand by me

Stand by me, stand by me, stand by me.”

The Conductor watched as DJ Grooves, face bare and ridiculous platforms vacant, sing sweetly to the sleeping little girl. He hadn’t noticed the door opening, thankfully, the Conductor didn’t want to get yelled at for ruining any tender  moment they were having. But as the Conductor watched, he couldn’t help the relief that crashed down upon him…

Carefully, he closed the door back again and remained in the hall, being the unintentional audience for a bit.

Alright, he’d admit it. It was cute….

But he’d never tell the Peck Neck to his face.

Chapter Text

It was quiet up in the mountains. It always was, even with the bells and the goats and the wind. She’d grown up with this hush for all her life, as that is the life of a nomad. But did she ever look at her life with disdain?

No, goodness no. Maybe, when she was younger and longed for adventure, she had. But after traveling the world, learning of its vices and virtues, Myria had decided that her peaceful existence in the mountains wasn’t bad at all.

“And now, little one, that is your life as well,” She replied, brushing the hair out of the young toddler’s face. It had been a year since she’d found this small, crying babe on her doorstep. A full year of going from a bachelorette to mother, of learning how to juggle her role as a village doctor as well as parent, a full year of discovering herself .

It was an interesting time, to say the least.

But they’d made it. And Now they were here, sitting on the straw roof of Myria’s home, watching as the sun began to set and the stars began to shine.

The little one, who had yet to been named even now, giggled and reached for the stars, her eyes twinkling in their glow. She had been a hand full during the first month, putting Myria at her wits end. But soon, they began to form a bit of a cycle. Myria learned what cries meant what, when to tell the little one no or yes, and how to deal with temper tantrums and tears.

“Ma…” the child seemed to babble, no doubt wanting her mother to grab the stars for her. “Ma!”

“I’m sorry, little one,” Myria chuckled, before reaching her hands out to “try” and grab the stars as well. “We can’t grab the stars, they’re too far away...But, I do know of a story of a goat who became the stars…”

The word “story” had already gotten the little one’s attention, and she’d disregarded the stars to listen to her mother’s words. Looking up with those Hazel eyes of hers, Myria couldn’t help but giggle. The little one was always so curious!

“Alright, alright. Since it has been a year from your discovery, it is time for you to hear this tale, as all youth do. The tale of the great Elder and his search for peace…”

And so Myria began the tale, knowing fully well that her little one will be fast asleep by the time it would end. But this was the custom, and even that in itself didn’t matter as much. It was just nice to spend time like this, enjoying the life they had…

The little one managed to make it through half of the tale, but soon after she’d succumbed to the night. Myria simply went on, brushing some of the hair out of her eyes before finishing up the tale just as a shooting star passed over head. By now the sun had long sence set, and millions upon millions of stars littered the sky. Myria could pick out all the constellations, even in the clutter. It was here that she realized what she’d name this child.

“My little Hazel, may the stars watch over you…”

Chapter Text

Before the Conductor knew it, two whole months had breezed by with little to no fanfare. Sure, he’d still get the occasional call from Grooves about what to do, but not nearly in the same intensity as they had before. The Conductor actually found himself checking in more times than he thought he would, but even then that had slowed down to only once a week. Little Harmy had seemed to settle into life at the studio quite nicely, practically charming the penguins into being her darling fans. Of course, that brought up something that started to irk the Conductor quite a bit. A question that plagued his little birdy brain any time the press put a photo of Harmony in the papers.

Their paths crossed in the dressing room, Grooves having swung by to check on Harmony and the Conductor about to change into a costume for a specific scene. As usual, this resulted in banter. Their conversations always did. Thankfully, this one lacked an audience.

“Well, if it isn’t the proud papa himself,” the Conductor jeered, poncho fluttering behind as he made his way over to Grooves. “Aye noticed that movie you’ve been shootin’s takin’ longer than expected. Did ya finally realize that Aye was the better director and give up?”

Grooves, who’s sunglasses did a pretty decent job at hiding the bags under his eyes, only smiled as he sauntered up to butt heads with the Conductor once more. “Oh on the contrary, Darling. You know how the old saying goes, you can’t rush perfection. But you can rush boring old westerns, it seems~”

“Boring?! Oh please!” The Conductor snarled, leaning up and pointing his feathered hand at DJ Grooves’s chest. They hadn’t argued like this in a while, and he missed it. “If Aye remember right, Aye’m not the one who’s won second place over the last ten years.”

“And what an embarrassment that’s been,” Grooves replied, puffing up his chest and looking down on the yellow owl. He seemed to even mockingly pout a little bit. “I mean, the only reason you’ve won is because you’ve been making the same movie year after year. The plot’s as predictable as gravity.”

“Predictable?! At least my movie’s have character to ‘em! All you ever do is publicise and whip out a musical, a sickenin’ sweet rom-com, a sci-fi disaster, or, heaven forbid, a mix of all three!”

By now, The Conductor had managed to back DJ Grooves towards the wall. Even though he was cornered, Groves showed no annoyance or worry in his stance. Whether he actually did, it was hard to tell. Yet just as quickly, Grooves did a bit of a power move. He leaned down to glare at the Conductor, black eyes sparkling in the heat of the  argument.

“If I remember right, wasn’t it the one that had all three that won the forty second award, Darling?”

They were close, they were alone, they hadn’t had a chance like this in quite some time.

Instantly, his feathered hands sprung forward and grabbed Grooves’s jacket, spinning him around and effectively swapping positions. He leaned up at Grooves, giving the snarkiest grin he could muster. Groove’s simply stuttered for perhaps a second or two, cheeks flushing, before his flippers grabbed the Conductor’s dress coat and flipped him back, harder than before.

They were both smiling, however, a challenging glint in their eyes.

“Gah, so this is how it’s gonna be?” The Conductor asked rhetorically, waiting to make another move.

“I guess it is-whoa!”

And just like that -like two idiotic cogs in a machine, they rotated down the wall, trying to get the upper hand in this odd game of pretentious flirting. Cackles and quips were tosses left and right, feathered hands wandered closer than they had in months. Yet neither crossed the line, not now, not when the sun was up and their minds were clear. But it wouldn’t have been the first time, if they had…

“Face it darling,” Grooves panted out, once again on top, hair frazzled and glasses skewed. “We both know you ain’t as strong as you used to be.”

“Psh, look who’s talkin’!” The Conductor laughed wheezily, his poncho slipping of his shoulder while his hat tethering carefully on his head. “Yer only a few years younger the me, DJ Peck neck! Aye remember when ye- pECK!”

Suddenly, the wall they were both leaning on gave way, pulling backward and sending the duo tumbling to the floor. Childlike laughter echoed around them.

“DJ Groves! Are you alright?” one of the ever so familiar voices of the moon penguins chirped up, running over from Harmony’s side towards the duo. Of course Groove’s would resort to having some of his posse watching the kid. To be honest, back in the day he’d pick an express owl or two to watch his little chirpers if they had to come on set that day. He couldn’t fault Grooves on it, but he did expect him to...well, go for someone more lavishing…

“I’m fine Darling, I’m fine.” Grooves began, lifting himself off of the Conductor with ease. This wouldn’t be the first time something like this had happened. “Just got in a little scuffle with-”

“De de!” a child like voice called out. All eyes turned towards the small human, standing up in her crib with arms outstretched. “Dede! Dede!”

In a flash, Grooves was by her side, lifting up Harmony with perhaps the truest smile he’d worn in years. “Is that who I am? Am I Dede?”

“Dede!” Harmony called out once more, practically cheering as she was spun around by her father.

The Conductor decided that he’d stayed on the floor long enough and rose to his feet, dusting himself off. By now the penguin had made his way over to the Conductor, but kept his eyes on his boss, seeming a little shocked.

“Oi, laddie, what’s got yer goat?” The Conductor asked, eyeing the nearby clock. He had to get back to recording soon.

“I think those were her first words,” The penguin mused, scratching his head with his flipper. “I mean, she doesn't say a word to me or any of the other penguins…hell, she doesn’t even smile...”

“...ah, this might be trouble for you then,” The conductor began, getting a sly grin on his face and he chuckled at the idea. “Aye mean if Aye know anythin’ about babies, it’s that they can be spoiled real quick. Yer better be careful, else ya wind up with a spoiled brat on ya flippers.”

“Nah, this is DJ Grooves kid, she’d never be....” The penguin began, but quickly trailed off as they realized that the Conductor’s words weren’t too far off. The duo turned their gaze back to the father daughter duo, both too involved with each other to care what the penguin and the Conductor were talking about. A nervous glint appeared in the penguin’s eye just as the Conductor’s devilish grin grew wider. “...oh stars....”

The Conductor chuckled as he started to make his way out of the room, poncho fluttering as he turned. “Yep! Good luck with that, laddie! Looks like the only thing she care about is DJ pe-”

“Con!”

The Conductor was once again proven wrong, and he didn’t know wether to be upset by that or happy that the the kid seemed to love him just as much as Grooves.

Ether way, not a lot of recording was done that day.

Chapter Text

The Sea was a harsh, cruel thing. It could be just a beautiful as it was deadly. It was one of the first things he was taught about the sea, back in boating school. But years upon years of being out and about, traveling across its blue vastness, had dimmed that fear to a tolerance, to just a occasional respect. Yet there were times where he hated the sea, hated it for what it took, hated it just because it kept him with his mess of a “crew”, or just felt like hating because it was better than feelin’ empty inside.

But another thing he hated about it was that, sometimes, really weird things would happen at Sea, with little rhyme or reason to them.

“Hewwo, Captain? Hewwo!”

It had been late, and they’d been out on a new cruise liner for almost a week. Hadn’t touched land since. And to say thing’s had been going swimmingly would be quite the overestimate. But then again, so was calling his crew a “crew”.

“Captain! Hewwo? Is anyone thewe?Hewwo!”

“What is it,” The Captain relented, running a flipper over his face as he hoped and prayed that whatever the seal, who was currently using the announcement system, was just using it to say “Hi”. It wouldn’t be the first time. It probably wouldn’t be the last ether.

“We need youw help at the fwont-” The seal began, and the Captain let out a groan, already mentally preparing himself to get up and go see what the problem was. But before he could even try to think the thought, the audio cut off. And a scramble was heard from the other side.

“Oh!” Said a different seal, quickly. “Nevewmind! We solved the pwoblem! Sowwy to bothew you Captian!”

The Captain paused for a second, going from mildly surprised to squinting at the air. He could feel the other seals, well, really one one, looking to him in a mess of confusion. The rest were still goofing around on the controls, playing whatever games they’d installed before the trip. Yet it something about this seemed to strike him as not good. Usually, the seals only called for help when they knew they’d screwed up royally. Mostly because they know how mad he could get…

So to try and cover it up, different Seal and all, was awfully fishy.

“Roger that,” the Captain responded, as to not let the guests or crew be alerted to the possible bad situation afoot. For a few moments, he wondered if he should just “trust” his crew, and stay in his seat. After all, it wouldn’t be the first time he turned a blind eye to whatever shenanigans they we’re up too. But for some reason, weather he was feeling slightly better today or he was more worried about the ship, something in him told him to go check it out.

With a huff, the Captian lifted himself out of his chair and onto the ground, already prepared to flip on over to the front desk to see what the problem was.

“Captain? Whewe awe you going?” the one seal who’d been paying attention asked, looking up from his controls, his shining eyes meeting the captain’s dead gaze.

“Out. Be back in five. Just don’t touch the wheel.”

But he knew better then that. Rarely did he ever get out of these problems in less then an hour…

--------

Shuffling around the pure chaos that was his ship, it didn’t take the Captian too long to figure out a decent route to the check in desk. Just a slip down to the casino and it’d be below the balcony that had no stairs. Yeah, he was really starting to regret letting the seals try to fix the ship up.

Using a leaning stack of suitcases to get down, the Captain was greeted with the sight of multiple seals crowding around the front desk, all trying to speak over each other. Yet that wasn’t what caught him off guard. It was the fact that they were arguing, something that the seal had never really done before. They all got along like they shared a brain most of the time. Hell, he’d never even seen ‘em angry before.

“Alright, alright, What’s the big idea,” The Captain, making his way through the herd of seals and over to the desk. Doing a quick head count, he noticed how most of the crew was already i this room. “Why ain’t y’all at your stations?”

Normally, he’d expect an identical, in timed “Oh no! We’re Sowwy Captain!” about now, but all he was met with was silence. Silence and guilty looks. And guilty looks were only given when something really, really bad had happened. The Captain’s eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms.

“What happened…” It came out more of an order then an ask. He’d offer an apology later if he hurt their feelings. But if it was that important, then it needed to be handled quickly. For a few minutes, no one said anything. “...Well?”

“We...We don’t know whewe to put hew,” one of the seals, by the front desk, began. She kept her gaze strictly away from the Captain’s. Yet it wasn’t that that piqued the Captian’s interest...

Already, he was looking around, wondering exactly they were talking about.“...Her? Her who?”

His question was answered by the sound of something moving about in the lost and found box, snapping his attention to it. He gritted his teeth, tusks starting to dig a little into his chin. “Oh for Pete’s sake- don’t tell me y’all are keepin’ mice again!”

Instinctively, he’d flipped the lid up and let his hand dart inside, grabbing the squirming, living thing in an instant. Yet, that squirming thing wasn’t a mouse, or a rat, or any weird, living thing they’d placed in the lost and found before…

It was a pup.

A human pup.

The Captain just stared for a second, watching as this little pup simply spun around, being swaddled poorly in a hat. His gaze slowly moved to the front desk for an explanation. Seeing as the Captian wasn’t yelling, they took the situation as “everything is ok!”

“A gwest bwought hew hewe!” the receptionist seal began, smiling a smidgen of a nervous smile. “He found hew in fwont of his hotel woom. Since she was lost, we thought it would be good to put hew in the lost and found!”

“...You’re suppose to put kids in the-” The Captain began, gritting his teeth even more. How in the world could anyone be so...so!

“But no one wegistewed hew!” Another receptionist spoke up, yet got a smug look from his fellow desk clerk. Still, both quickly jumped back as the Captain reached over and moved the intercom towards him.

“Hello,” he began, instantly letting his anger fade into annoyance. “This is your Captain speaking. If you have lost a human baby, brown hair blue eyes, please come up to check in. I repeat. If you have lost a human baby, please come to check in.”

All around him, a chorus of “Oh!” and “Why didn’t we think of that!” echoed all around him. The Captain merely sighed and ran his free flipper over his face, feeling as if he’d aged a century. Yet something else seemed to surprise him, the sound of giggling, followed by something yanking his whiskers. Wincing only slightly, his gave fell back on the pup, tiny fists grasping at his face and tugging on whatever she could.

He was fine with it till her little mitts made a grab for his still lit cigarettes, which caused him to quickly jerk his head away before she burned herself. This seemed to elicit more laughter. Wonderful.

“Oh! I think she likes you!” one of the receptionist began, smiling even when the Captain set the pup, hat and all, down on the counter.

“Just...watch the pup till her folks come to pick her up, alright?” he groaned, too drained to deal with that. “And the rest of you, get back to your stations. Now.”

With that, the Captain was already shuffling off, trying to have a little faith that his crew wouldn’t let something like this happen again. At least, that’s what he thought.

------------

A few hour later, with the moon high in the sky above them, that the Captian decided to get up and get some fresh air. Nothing else major had happened, no complaints or any mysterious crashes. Wanting to make a quick round on the ship before coming back from his late night smoke, he didn’t know why he saved the front desk for last. Maybe he just had a gut feeling about it, that there was going to be another problem up there again...

But he wasn’t completely right. After all, it wasn’t as if a new problem had arisen. No it was the same old problem…

“...Crew,” The Captain began, looking from the desk to the receptionist.

“Yes Captain?” One of the receptionists, the only one on duty at the moment, asked.

“Why is the pup still here?” he sighed, already about to up his current cigarette intake from two to three.

Said pup was now, thankfully, asleep. Curled up in the comically oversized hat like a bug in a rug. It’d be cute if it wasn’t so worrying.

“Hew Pawents haven’t showed up yet, sir!” the receptionist proudly declared, taking great pride that they hadn’t messed up their job. “And I’ve been waiting hewe, just like you said!”

Well that was worrying…

“Have you called for ‘em again?” He asked, feeling a mild case of worry. If the kid hadn’t been claimed by now, where were her folks. They couldn’t have fallen overboard, could they?

“That’s the thing!” The receptionist stated, slapping their flippers down on the keyboard in front of them. Normally they’d fried the computers before they’d even get out of the port, but they’d been lucky this time. “Thewe’s nobody that bwought this baby with them! I dunno if she’s got’s any pawents at all!”

Oh, great. So ether someone snuck on board, or some how a baby managed to sneak onto the ship. The Captain already made a move to up his his three cigarettes to four, but quickly stopped. The pup, whether because of him or just by coincidence, let out a cough. The Walrus and the Seal’s eyes met.

The Captain sighed and quickly put out his own source of relief, running a hand over his head and under his hat.

“Well…” What was he gonna do about this? Already, he’d picked the pup up to get a better look at her. She didn’t seem hurt, or sick. Or even malnourished. But they did shiver slightly. And whether he meant to or not, the Captain pulled her closer towards him, awkwardly cradling the pup as he thought.

“Can we keep her?” The receptionist asked,

“What? No!”

The Seal opened their eyes wide, batting them as they gave the smallest of frowns. “Pwease!”

“Absolutely not,” the Captain ordered, unaware that he was holding the pup tighter now. “The moment we get back to port, we’re gonna try and drop this pup off. Now get back to work…”

“Aw,” the receptionist pouted, but, thankfully, obeyed his orders. Glad that the conversation was over, the Captain let out a sigh and made his way back to the control room. His mind wandered about what he was going to do with the...Wait…

He was still holding her. Would it really be a good idea to bring her up there?

“...well, can’t leave her down here,” he mused, realizing how much of a bad idea that could be. So, with a grumble, he settled for letting her stay with him for the night, in case anything else were to happen. “C’mon pup. You just rest up now. We’ll find ya a good home once we get back to port…”

Chapter Text

When DJ Grooves adopted Harmony, he figured out pretty quickly that he wasn’t going to win the Annual Bird movie Awards that year. It had hit him around a month in, when the ceremony was right around the corner. His production crew had just finished recording, and the editing room was a madhouse. And even if they managed to get the movie out on time, which they wouldn’t, they had to cut so many corner. It was a mess, plain and simple. So he cut his losses and took it all in stride.

And that stride was just not showing up at the awards ceremony.

He’d spent the day back at the studio, trying to see if he could salvage what they had and wrap it up for the next awards show. And taking some much needed R&R, of course. Since the awards wouldn’t have been till the next year, it gave him time to think.

Of course, that had been his excuse a year ago...

“Cut! Cut! Darling, what are you even doing ?! You’re supposed to be on the other side of the set!”

“Sorry!”

DJ Grooves let out a groan, the noise gritting out of his beak as he ran a flipper over his face. It had been a long day. A long day of shooting scene after scene, having to do decide whether to do  over and over again or just letting it set in it’s mediocrity. He loved the moon penguins, he really did, but they weren’t the best actors. Sadly, it wasn’t even like he had the options to hire different actors. He knew he needed something, or someone new. But everyone he’d interview just wasn’t up for the task. So, like all wonderful directors, he was stuck with doing what he could.

But, perhaps, today was just going to be a bit of a loss.

“No, no it’s fine.” Grooves sighed, rising from the director’s seat and stretching his back. “I think we’re done here. Everyone get ready to pack up, we’ll try again tomorrow.”

With the following sighs of relief, Grooves realized he wasn’t the only one worn out by the repetitive takes. He felt a little bad about it, but he knew it was for the best. After all, they had only a few more days until the upcoming awards ceremony. And of some reason, this year seemed to be his worst when it came to movie ideas. Of course, he had the excuse that raising a child was in itself a full time job. But like heck was he going to lean on that crutch.

Speaking of which, he was wondering what his little diva was up too. She was getting into all sorts of trouble now a days, seeing as she could toddle practically anywhere. There’d even been a few times when she’d wandered in during recording. Thankfully they’d found a way to baby proof most of the doors. So so far, no unexpected-

“Uh, Boss?” A moon penguin, the one he currently had watching Harmony, waddled up. He didn’t seem like himself, however. He was much more jittery, and his gaze kept going from the ceiling to Grooves and back. Behind him, several other penguins seemed to be scrambling about, trying not to seem too startled. Yet, naturally, none of his penguins were particularly good actor.

“Oh Darling, what are you doing here?” Grooves asked, already starting to look above him, only for the Penguin to quickly grab his flipper and yank his arm.

“Hey!” The penguin exclaimed quickly, before giving an apologetic look. “Uh, how about we don’t look up for a second boss, alright?”

“Darling,” Grooves began, raising his eyebrows in a knowing manor. It was almost like one would scolding a child. “Now why wouldn’t I want to look-”

“De de!”

Groove’s head snapped up above him, and what did he see? Well, none other than Harmony, waving down at him from up on the rafters.The scene would have been cute, if the child wasn’t a good twenty feet off the ground, teetering over the edge.

“Harmony?!” Grooves gaped, feeling his heart drop to his stomach. Quickly, he snapped his gaze to the babysitter. “How in the world did she…?!”

“There’s a wonderful and rational explanation for that.” The penguin beside Grooves began, taking a few steps back nonetheless. “See, when we baby proofed all the doors, well, the kid decided to take an...alternative route. That route being the vents.”

“I thought we fixed the grates?!” Grooves exclaimed, before shaking his head and turning his gaze back up at the rafters. “Forget it, We’ll worry about that later. Please tell me someone’s gone off to get a ladder or- or something?!”

“We’re lookin boss,” one of the other penguins piped up, having stopped from scrambling around the set. “but most of the got snagged by the Express owls. They wouldn’t say why! And they won’t let us borrow even one!”

“Of course they would. Of all the times to finally start…” Grooves groaned, rubbing his temple as he turned his gaze back up at Harmony. “Darlin! Stay there! Don’t you move!”

He hoped she’d listen, seeing as he darted off to go have a word with the Conductor.

———————-

“If ye peck necks don’t find that lassie, DJ Peck Neck’s gonna be the least of ye problems!”

It had been a pretty decent day of recording. At least, by the Conductor’s standards. They’d forgone recording any train scenes in favor of shooting in house. Something about the weather being bad, he didn’t remember. He did remember an owl nearly falling off of his fake horse, wings flapping up at something in the rafters.

Yet when the Conductor had looked, nothing was there.

This happened about three more times till he spot the wee lassie, crawlin’ around without a care in the world. And normally, he wouldn’t have batted an eye. However, little ones nae crawled on rafters twenty feet off the ground. But of course, nothing about that child was normal.

At first, the Conductor had balked at the sight, but sent some owls to get fetch the little hellraiser and bring her down. Problem with that was the moment the owl’s got close enough, she’d dart back into the vents. And the Owl’s couldn’t exactly grab her and fly at the same time, not unless they wanted to scratch the poor thing with their talons. So now they were at an impasse, and a good chunk of the Conductor’s express owls were stuck in the vents as well.

Wonderful.

“Uh, Mr Conductor sir!” one his express owls began, yelling from over by the doorway. By now a small group of them had surrounded the door, keeping it shut as a group of penguins tried to bust in. “The moon penguins are starting to notice we took their ladders. They’re, uh… they’re getting pretty miffed!”

“Tell ‘em to get lost! I don’t need those luney birds to be stickin’ their beaks into this. It’ll just be more confusin’ to-” the Conductor began, gaze focused on the ceiling above him, but was quickly cut off when the door was practically kicked open. The Express owls were scattered about as a hoard of Moon Penguins, lead by Dj Peck Neck himself, swarmed in.

“Conductor Darling We’re gonna be needing those ladder right-” Grooves began, already expected to fight the Conductor for the ladders, but was quickly silenced as he noticed the chaos around them. Catching on, he snapped his gaze back at his rival. “Don’t tell me you’ve been…”

“Of course we have,” The Conductor replied, uncrossing his arms to gesture around the set. “Why in the world would we need all these bloody ladders in the first place?”

That seemed to be the wrong answer, because now DJ Grooves was making a beeline straight for the conductor, a not at all pleased look on his face.

“ Why ,” Grooves began, not bother to hide his anger, “Didn’t you tell me that she was up in the rafters earlier?! Don’t you think I’d have a right to know about this?”

If this argument had happened during the first few years of their recording, when they were still green behind the ears and new to cinematography, the the Conductor would have probably been shocked by the tone. But no, he’d known his rival well enough to know when he’d gone too far. This wasn’t it, it he was getting close.

“Well, aye didn’t think it’d take this long for my express owls to find yer little brat,” The Conductor replied, going back to crossing his arms. He wisely decided to keep the fact he was also going to use the fact that he “rescued” little Harmy as a bragging right. Right now didn’t seem like the time. “Little bugger managed to dash off.”

“Wait, how long has she-” Grooves began, before stopping, taking a deep breath, and letting his anxiety flow right on out. Not the time to get his feathers ruffled over the Conductor’s lack of sense. “Look, she’s over by my set now, so if you just bring some of those ladder’s over to our side, darling, then maybe we can get her down.”

“Ha! She’s probably run off already,” The Conductor scoffed, before motioning to his owls. “By the time we get any of these over there, she’ll already be-”

“Con De! De De!”

Both birds looked up, eyes once again landing on the small child. Yet instead of being on the rafters, or anywhere near a vent, she seemed to have landed on one of the props. It was a large cut out of a crescent moon, to be exact. Not a single care in the world.

“Darling?!” And there went Grooves, off to try and grab a ladder. “Oh goodness- Don’t move!”

“How’d she get up there?!” Was all the Conductor could really say, because in all honesty, he had no idea how she managed to get to that set piece.

The little one was now two or three years old, no one was certain but the guess was around there, and it showed. She was always wondering about, and because of this, whatever “cutsie” outfits Grooves had picked out usually got torn and covered with dust and dirt. So for the most part, Harmy’s wardrobe got switched from star studded dresses to star patterned overalls.

In the Conductor's opinion, they still looked pretty tacky. But they worked.

“Con!” Littler Harmony called out, arms held out as she looked down at the Conductor. “Fly!”

The Conductor quickly shook his head. “What?! No! You stay up there ya little hellion!”

“Fly!” The child repeated, leaning more and more off the edge. By now Grooves had snagged a ladder, but, seeing as there was nothing to lean it on to get a close to the child, felt a little at a loss.

“No Darling!” Grooves called up, rushing back to his kid. “Stay right-”

Before anyone could say anything, the child slipped off the set piece.

Instantly, both directors jumped into action. Literally. Whether it was due to the birds hollow bones, or just pure parental instinct, the duo had launched themselves off the floor and to the air. Grooves, on account of his platforms, seemed to just be a little higher than the Conductor. But nether were close enough to grab the child.

Not until Grooves grabbed the Conductor’s outstretched hand and, in a moment of quick thinking, used his momentum to launch the yellow bird the rest of the way. Letting out a surprised squawk, the Conductor managed to snag the child mid air, pulling her close to him as he prepared for his no doubt rough landing.

Yet it never came.

Or well, it did. But it wasn’t the rough, concrete floor that the Conductor landed on. No, it seemed that Grooves had intended to catch both the Conductor and Harmony. But instead, the Moon Penguin simply cushioned their fall. Now collapsed into a pile and wincing at their bruises, the owls and penguins around them let out a sigh. Clearly, everyone had been holding their breath.

“Again! Again!”

Gathering their bearings, the Conductor and DJ Grooves both turned their gaze to Harmony, who seemed no worse for wear. If anything, she seemed a bit better off, now flapping her little arms wildly as she repeated those words, stars in eyes. Groove’s let out a groan, letting his head fall back onto the floor. The Conductor merely shook his head, letting out a bit of grumble.

“You, lassie, are nothin’ but trouble.”

Chapter Text

It would be a few hours later, when it was decided that Harmony would not be leaving anyone’s line of sight, that DJ Grooves got a call. Apparently some damage had happened over at the Moon set. Nothing too major, but some of the penguins wanted him to check it out and give his opinion. Normally, this would be a breeze, seeing as the moon launch center was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. But seeing as Grooves was saddled with Harmony, the travels might be a little tricky. After all, even though she was a bird citizen, Grooves had hesitated on taking her up to the moon for a bit. He’d always felt she wasn’t exactly ready for the trip, at least, back when she was only a baby.

Mostly because travel to and from the Moon was done by ether rocket or elevator, and seeing as it was still daylight, they’d have to settle for rocket. Not that they were bad, after all, travel to and from the moon wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been in the past. It was just usually jarring for those who’d never been into space before.

Right up until they got into the contraption, Grooves was a bit worried for his daughter. But he felt like she was in more danger if he left her alone. It was better to have her in his line of sight after that little rafter stunt. Yet she seemed to handle the launch like a champ. The whole flight, Grooves watched as she marveled at the change of scenery. She seemed to especially like looking out the window, her littler eyes glued to it as the sky changed color and shape.

All in all, everything was going so smoothly, Grooves couldn’t help but feel silly for even worrying.

From the space station, it was only a hop, skip, and a jump to the moon set. Grooves had bought the lot of land just for that reason, after all. What good would it be for him to waste time traveling to and from. They’d be burning moonlight, after all.

“Now darlings, what seems to be the probl- oh my…”

Walking up to the moon set, Grooves had expected to see only some sort of small damage, like a broken window or something. Those happened occasionally, seeing as bits of space junk often hit the moon from time to time. But what he hadn’t expected was to see a busted fountain, and floating pools of water scattered all across the moon set. For a moment, he was amazed by the sheer amount of them, all of varying sizes and shapes. Amongst the mess were only a few moon penguins, trying to soak up the floating bubbles and stop the fountains overflow.

Harmony, who he’d been carrying ever since they touched down on the moon, gasped and cooed at the sight, trying to squirm out Groove’s grasp. Which was rather easy, seeing as Grooves dashed over to the fountain in a huff.

“Darlings!? What on earth happened here?!”

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Now left to her own devices, the child watched as she slowly floated back to the ground, landing softly on her wobbly feet. Getting a feel for her new limitations, Harmony tested the new lack of gravity by giving herself a little jump. Instantly, she shot up into the air, much higher than she’d ever could back home. And once again, she floated back down, ever so slowly.

Harmony blinked, watching as moon dust scattered under her shoes. A smile slowly rose on her face, and her gaze fell back to the bubbles in the sky. Giving another hop, Harmony aimed for the closet one to her, her little hands grazing it only slightly. Falling down on her tush, she let out a pout and scrambled to her feet.

She was going to get that bubble.

Crouching down slightly, Harmony remembered how some of the owls would get into the air. They’d always get lower to the ground, then jump and flap their arms. Then they flew. Harmony had tried all her might to fly back home, but she never was able to flap her wings fast enough. She even tried to jump from a high place, like she saw other birds do. But Dede and Con didn’t seem to like that.

She was just beginning to think that maybe she wasn’t meant to fly. After all, Dede and the moon penguins never did.

But here they were, flying right now.

Maybe she could too…

-----

It took them thirty minutes to get the water shut off. By the end of it, Grooves was soaked to the bone and shivering. Tired, bruised, and cold; he wasn’t really having the best day. So it was understandable why he was a bit more quiet than usual.

“One of the pipes busted open,” one of the moon penguins, the head of the moon set division if he remembered correctly, chattered on. She seemed nervous, as if something else had happened. But Grooves was too drained to dig into it. “Thing was just old, from the looks of it.”

“That’s alright darling,” Grooves sighed, ringing his jacket to try and get most of the water out. “Accidents happen. I’m just glad none of the camera’s were ruined during all of this.”

“You and me both,” The penguin chuckled, turning her gaze to the water before them. “Now we just gotta clean up the water and-...”

Grooves, catching that the penguin had stopped mid sentence, looked up from his jacket. Following her gaze, Grooves caught sight of something he didn’t really expect.

His little Harmony, just jumping from pool to pool, looked to be having the time of her life. At first Grooves wondered if she needed help, but her laughter echoed through each time she bursted through. Behind her was a small squad of penguins, no doubt trying to catch her. Yet every time they got close, she’d ether use them to launch herself further or dodge them.

It was hilarious! It was adorable!

It was just the thing his movie needed.

“Darling,” Grooves began, not bothering to tear his gaze away from the sight. “Go get the camera’s rolling. And no matter what, don’t stop them until I say so. Understand?”

Grooves didn’t bother to wait and hear an answer. Getting a skating start, he rushed towards the closest pool of water and hopped right in.

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When the night came for the Annual Bird movie awards, well, the Conductor expected to pull another win in the bag, same as last year. After all, all of his movies that year had been box office successes, raking in more pons then he knew what to do with. Well, he knew exactly what he was going to do with them, but the saying still went.

What he hadn’t expected to see, was DJ Peck Neck, shaking right in toe with his little trouble maker. To be honest, he’d actually hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the little lassie since her last little stunt. At first the Conductor had figured Grooves finally realized that keeping a child in a studio was just a bad idea. But then when he noticed that she would still be brought to the studio, well, he assumed Grooves didn’t trust him to keep an eye on the little one.

Like he cared, she wasn’t his kid or anything…

“Con!”

He’d saw them before they saw him, thankfully. But it wasn’t long before the little lass spotted him. Pulling away from Grooves, the Conductor merely watched as the trouble maker scampered over. He couldn’t help and cringe at what was perhaps the most gaudiest, fluffiest red dress one could put on a child. He’d almost thought he was getting attacked by a stray puff ball rather than a toddler.

“Harmy?!” He’d gaped, before his leg was tackled by the child. It took him a quick second to gather himself, and he let out a smirk as he patted her on the head. “Well, glad to see yer Da brought ya along. It’ll be a good lesson in humility.”

The Conductor’s smirk deepened when he caught Grooves’s eyebrow twitch. Instantly the penguins was over to his side, posse hovering close by.

“Actually,” Grooves began, seeming to puff up his chest a little more as he spoke. “I wouldn’t be so sure on your victory this time, Darling.”

The rest of the conversation devolved into squabbling, same as usual. But the Conductor seemed to notice something different about the penguin’s tone. As if there was a hint of smugness, as if there was something that the peck neck wasn’t telling him. But before they could get to the meat of the situation, the ceremony was starting to begin, and everyone rushed to their seats.

From his spot, every now and then, the Conductor spotted Harmony waving at him and whoever else caught her eye. Silly little thing, she was. He’d never really brought his tykes to the ceremony, well unless they were…

“Uh, M-mister Conductor sir?” One of the express owls behind him began, whispering into his ear. “Are you alright, you look a bit...pale.”

“He didn’t…” The Conductor muttered, watching as the host shuffled up to the microphone, drabbling about some joke or another. “No, he wouldn’t…”

The Conductor’s gaze fell on the board, looking at the posters for the suggested movies. Three were his own, but one wasn’t. The cover, where normally DJ Peck Neck took center stage, was instead changed to show someone else. Someone featherless, and having the time of her life.

“And the winner for this year’s annual Bird Movie Awards is…”

The Conductor felt his rage boil up. How dare he! How could he?!

“Water you waiting for, by Director DJ Grooves!”

The Conductor watched as the spotlight fell onto two figures. DJ Grooves stupidly smug grin practically shined from across the room, and with a swoop of his flippers, he’d scooped up Harmony and skatted to the stage. Standing up on the platform, the duo accepted the applause and cheers from the crowd. The host shuffled over with the golden trophy, and waited for Grooves to make his speech.

“Thank you, thank you all,” Grooves began, just seeming a happy as could be. “But most of all, I want to thank my wonderful, amazing daughter Harmony here. Say hello Darling.”

“Hi!” Harmony, who no doubt has very little idea of what was going on, waved to the crowd, earning their praise tenfold.

“Without her as my inspiration to do better, and her wonderful help with my movie, I have no doubt that this film wouldn’t have been as marvelous as it was.” Grooves practically cooed, playing the crowd like a fiddle. The Conductor sunk more into his seat, not even bothering to hide his scowl. Their gazes meet, and Grooves smiled even more.

But then he turned his gaze back to his daughter, and his smile softened “So that’s why I’m dedicating this win to you, Darling. I’m so, so proud of you.”

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur, but the Conductor wouldn’t have noticed. The moment it was over, he’d leaped from his chair and made a beeline to the nearest exit. He didn’t dare stop, not even to see if his owls were behind him. Not even when they brought in that darned silver trophy.

It wasn’t till he was on his train, halfway down the tracks that he finally allowed himself to scream.

“Why that lousy, no good, disco-dancing, eyebrow dyin’, platform wearing, opportunity using, smooth talkin, peck neck!”

There was no one with him, he was manning the front of the train alone after all. But he didn’t seem to care, he couldn’t keep it to himself after all. So he settled to yelling to the one thing that would always be there to listen to him, his train.

“Of course he’d cheat, usin’ the brat to get the upper hand in all this! And Aye knew it! Aye just let the whole thing happen! Peck all why in the blazes didn’t Aye hop in for joint custody. She landed at bird studio’s after all! Gah!”

But he knew why, he knew she wouldn’t be able to be in any of his movies right now. At least, not majorly. His films were full of action, and it wasn’t uncommon for a few owls to get a little banged up every now and then. And they were “trained professionals”. Still, he wished Grooves had waited until the playing field was equal.

Wait...who said she had to be in any bit with action...

“...Ya know what, fine,” The Conductor muttered, slamming his hands down on the main controls of the train, ignoring the sting of slapping metal. “Two can play it this game, Grooves .”

He had just as much right to having Harmony in his movies as DJ grooves had.

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The rest of the ceremony went by without a hitch, in Grooves honest opinion. He would have stayed longer, but his little diva needs her sleep. And it was already getting late, after all. Rushing past the bird paparazzi and out of the building, Grooves couldn't help but sigh in relief as one of his penguins pulled up with a limo. Of course, he was going to ride in style. And what was more stylish than a limo. Having pick Harmony up in the scuffle, he sat her down beside him as the rest of his posse shuffled in, carrying the golden first place trophy with them.

By now, they were already driving back to the studio, an easy lull filling the car.

“So, how’d you enjoy your first awards show, darling?” Grooves asked, still basking in the glow of winning. “Did you have fun?”

His question was met with a sleepy nod, the little one leaning against him as she fought to stay awake.

“Good! You know, how about we celebrate this victory with a nice vacation, would you want to go on a cruise? Or how about I give you a tour of the moon! Anything you want Darling, we’ll do it.”

But he never go an answer, instead all he heard was his little angel sleepily snoozing away, hands loosely clasping his jacket sleeve. Grooves smile softened, and he pulled Harmony closer to him, wanting to make sure she slept comfortably. And, despite how happy he was, Grooves felt a sliver of worry rise up from in him.

Sure, the movie had been great, and they’d won first place, but was it really a good idea to get Harmony involved? What would the Conductor try to do to one up him now. Better yet, how would his little darling handle all this. Sure, she had fun when they acted in front of the camera, but would she actually enjoy acting? Should he try and have her in more of his movies?

“Somethin’ the matter boss?” one of the penguins asked, noticing their leader’s conflicted look. Grooves merely shook his head.

“No no, everything’s fine Darling. I’m just thinking about what to do next…”

Yet for some reason, Grooves couldn’t help but feel like he’d opened a can of worms.